H5N1 (avian influenza or bird flu), is a highly pathogenic virus that primarily affects birds but can also infect other animals and humans. The virus has devastated wild and farmed bird populations, and has infected many different species of animals. New research shows a single mutation of the virus can make it more infectious to humans, raising alarms about a potential pandemic if the virus becomes more transmissible.
Animals farmed for their fur, including minks and foxes, are known species that can become infected with H5N1. This post answers questions about fur farming in the context of H5N1 and why fur farming is considered a pandemic risk.
Why is fur farming a risk to public health?
Animal species farmed for their fur are known to carry zoonotic diseases, which are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans (for example, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19). A 2024 study published in Nature looked at the diseases circulating on fur farms in China. Among the farmed fur animals, researchers found, “125 virus species, including 36 that were novel and 39 at potentially high risk of cross-species transmission, including zoonotic spillover.” The species they tested included minks and foxes, the most commonly farmed animals on Canadian fur farms.
Fur farms are intensive operations, where thousands of animals are confined in cages in close proximity. If a zoonotic disease outbreak occurs on a fur farm, the disease can easily spread throughout the animal population and potentially cross the species’ barrier, infecting workers and increasing the risk of another pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were disease outbreaks of the SARS-CoV-2 virus on hundreds of fur farms around the world, leading to mass culls and countries banning the practice over the industry’s public health risk. British Columbia banned mink farming after numerous SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks on the province’s mink farms, with the Provincial Health Officer stating that, “mink farming is a health hazard as it is an activity which endangers or is likely to endanger public health.”
Have there been outbreaks of H5N1 on fur farms?
In October 2022, H5N1 was detected in farmed mink on a fur farm in Spain, leading to the cull of over 50,000 animals. More recently, H5N1 spread throughout Finland’s fur farm sector in 2023, infecting minks and foxes across 27 fur farms. The government ordered mass culls, leading to the killing of over 250,000 animals. In November 2024, a government agency, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, stated that fur farming is a pandemic risk and unless the industry implements strict biosecurity measures, fur farming should be banned in Finland and across the European Union.
While there have been no reports of H5N1 on fur farms in Canada to date, the virus has been detected in wild minks and foxes in the country.
How can animals on fur farms become infected with H5N1 or other infectious diseases?
H5N1 can be transmitted to animals on fur farms through direct contact with infected animals (such as wild birds) or through their feed. Direct transmission can occur as sheds on fur farms are open-sided, exposing caged animals to infected wild animals. Animals are also known to escape from their cages on Canadian fur farms, putting them in contact with wild and domestic animals. In 2021, officials found escaped minks infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus on a British Columbia fur farm.
Another route of disease transmission is through feed. Minks and foxes on fur farms are fed raw animal products (a point that Canada’s fur farm industry extols as being an ecological practice).
If raw feed is contaminated with a virus, it could be transmitted to animals on fur farms. For example, H3N2 (swine) influenza was detected in farmed mink in Nova Scotia in 2007. Raw pig products fed to the mink were the suspected source of disease transmission.
In August 2023, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a notice to Canada’s fur farm industry, recommending alternatives to raw feed due to the risk of disease transmission, including H5N1, for farmed mink and foxes.
“The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) would like to remind fur producers that feeding raw animal products, specifically those from poultry and other birds, poses a risk of disease transmission to the animals being fed.” - Canadian Food Inspection Agency (August 31, 2023)
Despite the risks, the CFIA did not issue any mandatory measures regarding the feeding of raw animal products in the fur farm sector. Another point of concern is the CFIA’s removal of mink and fox feeds from federal Feeds Regulations in 2024, which raises questions about the federal government’s oversight and authority over the fur farm industry’s feeding practices.
What is the current fur farming situation in Canada?
British Columbia became the first province in Canada to ban mink farming in 2021. Fur farming remains legal throughout the rest of the country, with large, industrial fur farms operating in several provinces. Most of Canada’s fur farms are located in Ontario and Nova Scotia, the nation’s two largest fur producing provinces. Minks, foxes, bobcats, wolves, lynx, and chinchillas are species known to be actively farmed for their fur in Canada. Click here to learn more about Canada’s fur farms.
TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to end fur farming in Canada!
Over 50 infectious disease specialists from across Canada signed a letter calling on the Canadian government to ban fur farming. Infectious disease experts and virologists abroad have called for an end to fur farming worldwide over its risks to public health. Over twenty countries have banned fur farming.
Join the voices who are speaking out against fur farming and take action to end the practice in Canada. Click here to sign the federal e-petition that calls on Canadian government to end fur farming. Click here to send a letter to your MP and learn more about fur farming on our campaign page.
